


Morning Lecture

by Lululeigh



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Spoilers, Friendship, Gen, Prompt: Relationships, Relationship(s), gilbert week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26432767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lululeigh/pseuds/Lululeigh
Summary: The prospect of it sounded good. Gilbert constantly heard the heroes of Askr talking about the battle-worn knight from Nohr, a land not so different from his birthplace of Faerghus. Maybe meeting with Gunter would go well and he would have a new ally to exchange training tactics with.
Kudos: 2
Collections: Gilbert Week 2020





	Morning Lecture

**Author's Note:**

> leave it to me to wake up on the last day of Gilbert Week 2020 with the motivation to finally write something with him in it. also I _know_ Gilbert isn't a hero in FEH (yet), but I really just _wanna smooch both of them, okay?_ this is the beginnings of that dream coming true; someday my sad knight will come.

After spending a few weeks becoming acquainted with Askr, the Order of Heroes, and the goals they pursued, the Summoner had suggested that Gilbert get to know some of the veteran heroes in the army, perhaps over a cup of tea.

_ ‘It might be nice to talk to someone other than me’,  _ Leigh had reasoned during an afternoon where Gilbert was teaching them how to fish. They had taken a liking to him, and even though their fishing skills never seemed to improve, these quiet times spent at the pond always turned out to be a nice opportunity to relax.

Gilbert was hesitant, insisting that such a thing was unnecessary and that he would rather not burden other people’s busy schedules with his presence. Leigh’s persistence eventually convinced him to agree.

_ I know! I’ll ask Gunter if he’d like to have tea tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound? _

The prospect of it sounded good. Gilbert constantly heard the heroes of Askr talking about the battle-worn knight from Nohr, a land not so different from his birthplace of Faerghus. Maybe meeting with Gunter would go well and he would have a new ally to exchange training tactics with.

Or maybe he would have to sit there in agony as he watched the colour drain from Gunter’s face when it came up in conversation that Gilbert had left his wife and child to carry-out his self-imposed exile after having failed to protect his king. As he was right now. Thankfully Gunter did not drop his teacup, though Gilbert feared that it was moments away from shattering from the grip Gunter exerted on the handle.

“...Excuse me?”

Perhaps it would have been wiser to dodge the other’s inquiry regarding how he ended up serving as an instructor at Garreg Mach Monastery.

Gunter had politely excused himself from the table after that, leaving Gilbert alone to stare into the depths of his teacup. He sighed, hoping to avoid Leigh for the rest of the day so he would not have to explain how awful the encounter ended. The rest of the day passed by without so much as a disturbance, at least, until he was readying himself for sleep that evening. He saw the envelope slip silently under his door from the corner of his eye, his bones detesting the need to rise from his bed after he had already laid down. The contents of the letter inside surprised him, but also made him fearful.

_ Meet me tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., Training Arena C, bring your axe. _

_ \--Gunter _

Gilbert wished the morning would never come.

“Sir Gunter, may I ask why you requested my presence here this morning?” Despite the dreadful feeling in his stomach, his sense of duty could not simply ignore the contents of the letter.

“Sir Gilbert, it occurs to me that we’ve never had the opportunity to spar before. Seeing as we both wield axes, I figured this might be a good chance to test our skills, given our statuses as knights to our respective kingdoms.”

“Very well.” Gilbert could accept that, readying himself for the other’s attack. The whole situation still felt rather abrupt.

Gunter did not miss a beat, making the first move as he swung his axe in the other’s direction.

“I also wish to continue our chat from yesterday.”

“Ah, so that was your reason for calling me out here.”   
  
_ Clash. _

“We all have our reasons for why we did certain things in the past—”

_ Clink. _

“—and as the years pass by, we arrive at justifications for our actions.”

_ Clang.  _

“Your point, Sir Gunter?” 

Gilbert had not dragged himself out of bed this morning to receive a lecture, even if he deserved it.

“If you ever hurt Leigh like you did your family—”

Gunter struck him with an awfully hard blow, sending Gilbert to the ground with a  _ thud _ . He should have expected that. The veteran knight now pointed his axe in Gilbert’s direction, alarmingly close to his throat.

“—I will not hesitate to track you down and show you no mercy.”

Gilbert closely watched the other man as he spoke from his place on the ground. On his face, Gilbert recognized the stubbornness of a soldier, sensing the same attitude he exuded when he instructed both the king’s family in Fhirdiad and the students of Garreg Mach alike. The look in Gunter’s eyes told him more though; they spoke of a longing, a sadness, a grave  _ loss  _ he had experienced in his life that he was determined to never see happen again. That must have been the uncertainty he felt at the table yesterday.

“Hey you two! What are you doing?”

The sing-song melody of Leigh’s voice pulled Gilbert away from his thoughts. They stood outside the training grounds but were not alone, joined also by Corrin—Gunter’s liege—as well as Dimitri and Annette. His heart twanged at the thought of Leigh getting along with not only the prince but also his daughter.

“I could ask the same of you!” Gunter replies, dropping his weapon to the ground. “Since when are you up and about before noon?”

Leigh huffs, sticking out their tongue in retort. Both knights find themselves laughing under their breaths. 

“We’re off to the market in town! Care to join us?” 

“Well,” Gunter dusts off his hands before extending one to Gilbert, “I think that concludes everything I wanted to say. For now.”

Gilbert sighs, looking back to the group for a moment before taking Gunter’s hand to help him get back to his feet. He knows he needed to hear that, even though he had not expected to be roughened up in the process. 

“Perhaps next time you wish to chat we can agree on a more civil approach.”

“You don’t like my methods?” Gunter laughs. The pair make their way towards Leigh and the others, full of smiles and jovial cheer.

_ ‘Maybe,’ _ he thinks,  _ ‘Leigh’s encouragement to meet other heroes in Askr would be a good experience after all.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually know how to write combat (nor had the patience for it) so instead I leave you with sound effects and your imagination.


End file.
